Maria Sakkari def. Katie Boulter 6-0 4-6 6-2

It certainly was not the auspicious start Katie Boulter might have wanted on her Hopman Cup debut, as she struggled to make any impact until the last game of the set where she valiantly saved three set points before finally losing the set without a game on the board.

Boulter has a great temperament though, and knuckled down to come out the better of a flurry of breaks to take the advantage in the second set to level things up. However things unraveled quite quickly for the Brit at the start of the decider, as Maria Sakkari leapt out to a 3-0 lead. It proved to be too much of a deficit for Boulter to return from, broken for a Greek win to level up the opening tie.

Things looked better for the Brits as they adjusted to the Fast 4 format quicker to get the first win on the board.

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Boulter v Belinda Bencic

Next up for the Brit is Belinda Bencic. It has been a tough journey back from the many injuries the young Swiss has had to endure, but her run to the Luxembourg title at the end of the year, and an ITF title to boot has put her in a solid position, back in the World Top 50 at the start of this season.

Bencic likes to play smarter, not harder, taking the ball early and has a decent serve and solid groundstrokes. What she also has on her side is experience at the higher levels of the tour and certainly at the Hopman Cup against the newbie, Boulter.

Boulter has shown she has the fighting spirit and with a tough task ahead of her partner here, Cameron Norrie, Boulter needs to work hard to stay with Bencic as much as possible.

Prediction: Bencic in three sets.

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